Lucy and Betsy beat up on Jane......

Poor Jane.  Not only is she losing time because of summer and the kids being home, but now Lucy and Betsy are elbowing in on the action.  Only a bit done on poor Jane this week.

Oh, and I take it back.  Two of the colors, not just one, in the new skeins are horrible matches.  See the flower in the bottom left?  That's supposed to be the same color as the skin tone on Adam and Eve.

(The above pic is also the piddling amount I got done this week.)  I'm so glad this wasn't the color of the skein I used for A&E and the rest of the sampler.  It's sooo yellow!  Not sure if I should just try to replace the fill in color on the flower to a different color or just tolerate the glaring new color.  Opinions?

Here's one of the reasons why poor Jane has been neglected this week.  The Lucy Bag, from Attic 24.

I may have created a monster here.  I made the bottom much larger than called for.  We'll see if it's ridiculously so!  The color from about the second beige and light blue rings out are the sides of the bag instead of the bottom.  Boy, does it take a while to go all the way round!

The other thing that's taken away from poor Jane was a class my friend Kathy (no blog) and I took in NJ with Betsy Morgan, the Toy Chest Etui.  It was a two day class, Friday and Saturday.  The first day was dedicated to finishing our pre-stitched piece and the second day to going over the rest of the project.  Here's the class project.

(There are two more "toys" to the piece now than in the picture, one being included with the class and another being an optional kit to buy.  I bought it of course!)  Betsy was a fantastic teacher!  I don't know if you're like me, but whenever I go to a class where there's finishing, I get stressed out and feel like I have to keep up with the teacher and work quickly and and and....   you get the picture.  Well, with Betsy, it was easy -- or at least a lot easier -- to keep up with her than with other teachers.  Her instructions were wonderful, both spoken and written.  By the end of the first day, both Kathy and I had finished our pre-stitched pieces into little thimble holders -- a finished product!  We were both thrilled!

Isn't it cute?  And it's a little thing, just the perfect size to hold a thimble!  All of the smalls that go in the chest are supposed to be toys.  This is a ball and cup -- although there's no ball in reality.

The second day was going over instructions, doing some practice doodling; making a sampler Jacob's Ladder from skirtex, paper and tape; and making the little drumsticks that go on the waxer holder/drum.  And at the end of the day, Betsy showed us how she makes cording and tassels.  I'm so glad she did.  I've made cording before, but her method is sooooo much better!   And I've never made tassels, but now I feel like maybe I can do it!

All I can say is, if you have a chance to take a class from Betsy Morgan, go for it.  She's a great teacher, very laid back and relaxed, and is so clever with her finishing methods too!  And her class pieces are gorgeous!  Well worth it!  Thanks for a wonderful class, Betsy!  And thanks to Diane and the ladies who sponsored it!

Current plan is to get back to Jane and finish her up, throw in some rows of crochet on the bag once in a while, maybe a bit of quilting?  Maybe.  And once Jane is done, hopefully tackle the Toy Chest Etui!  I hope!  We'll see what happens.  lol!

In other news, just one more exam for the boy child to go, tomorrow.  Then he will be done for the year.  He's already gone into summer mode, which isn't a good thing.  Too bad this exam wasn't closer to the rest of the exams.  But today will be his last day of study, tomorrow he'll take the exam, and finis!   The girl child is busy with her friends and boyfriend and her internship.  Which is a good thing!

Thanks again for stopping by and saying hi!  I love to read your comments and visit with you all.  Have a great week!